Fort Collins Audubon Society
is pleased to sponsor a new series from Kevin Cook

Colorado Natural History

Spring 2008

This class examines Colorado as a living landscape. We will start by considering how geology, climate, and location affect vegetation to create the geographic character that sets the stage for the state’s wildlife; all of this will be viewed through both prehistorical and historical perspectives. A review of present-day classification will lay the foundation for understanding biodiversity and Colorado’s own wildlife richness. A survey of the major life groups known to be living in Colorado will then explore some of the more fascinating stories they have to tell. Specific emphasis will direct participants when and where to go afield to experience firsthand the wildlife presented and discussed in class.

Jan 9 — Identity of Place: The Physical Making and Political Defining of Colorado

Jan 16 — Snails, Stegosaurus, and Sparrows: The Procession of Life through Time

Jan 23 — NO CLASS

Jan 30 — Who’s Who: The Tree of Life

Feb 6 — Midwives and Morticians: The Bacteria

Feb 13 — Mushrooms Aren’t What You Think: The Fungi

Feb 20 — Green Snow and Diarrhea: The Protists

Feb 27 — Take Two Liverworts And Call Me In The Morning: Nonvascular Plants

Mar 5 — Ferns, Horsetails, and Lycopods: The Seedless Vascular Plants—A survey of the diversity of Colorado’s lesser-known plants.

Mar 12 — Spruce Beer and Mormon Tea: The Gymnosperms—A survey of the diversity of Colorado’s conifers and other plants that produce seeds but do not flower.

Mar 19 — Flowers, Fruits, and Seeds: The Angiosperms—A discussion of what makes a flowering plant, what is and isn’t a wildflower, and a survey of the diversity of flowering plants in Colorado.

Mar 26 — What, If Anything, Is A Worm?–An introduction to the Animal Kingdom as it is presently understood, and a survey of which animal groups live in Colorado.

Apr 2 — What, If Anything, Is A Worm? This introduction to the animal kingdom will first examine the general characters that make a creature an animal then look at how these characters elaborate to produce the world’s total animal diversity as context to conclude with an overview of Colorado animal diversity.

Apr 9 — Squishy Species Addressing everything from soil-builders through food bases to parasites, this class will examine the identities and diversities of animals with neither bones nor exoskeletons; special emphasis will be given to Colorado.

Apr 16 — Arthropods 1: All Those That Aren’t Insects These are the animals people love to hate – ticks, centipedes, spiders – and love to eat – shrimps, crabs, crayfishes, and lobsters. This class will help you keep them straight!

Apr 23 — Arthropods 2: All Those That Are Insects Bees, beetles, butterflies, dragonflies, mayflies, ants, termites, roaches, grasshoppers, crickets, bugs: they pollinate our wildflowers and feed our birds. What more needs to be said?

Apr 30 — The Essential Life & Times of Arthropods This class will summarize arthropod diversity in Colorado by explaining the ecological connectivity – the symbioses – of some noteworthy arthropod species.

May — To be announced

Class Dates, Times, and Place

Cost

Registration

The class currently has full enrollment, but not all who have signed-up for the class are able to come each week, which always leaves a few seats available. If you would like to attend but are not currently enrolled, contact Kevin at 223-8392 afternoons or evenings.

About Kevin J. Cook

Kevin J. Cook has worked as a writer-naturalist based in Fort Collins, Colorado, since 1980.  While earning a bachelor of arts degree in biology (1978) and a master of science degree in wildlife biology (1989), he served with the National Park Service and did consulting for the Colorado Division of Wildlife.  Since beginning his writing as a college student in 1975, he has published 6,000 newspaper and magazine articles, contributed to several books, and edited nearly 1,000 technical articles about wildlife for scientific publication.  Besides writing he conducts seminars, teaches classes, and leads tours, all based on wildlife or natural history themes.  Though birds are his specialty group, he studies all wildlife and uses his writing and teaching to help people enjoy the natural world more by coming to understand it better.

Contact information:
Kevin J. Cook
P.O. Box 76
Ft. Collins, CO 80522
(970) 223-8392
kjcook@frii.com